Page 65 of Shameless
Kir opened the door wider and said, “No. We’re leaving right now.”
I waved for her to come in, and she did so.
“I just wanted to talk to Michael,” she said. As Charlie and Kir were grabbing their shoes and slipping them on, she added, “Take your time, both of you.”
They both said goodbye and were out the door in under thirty seconds.
They knew I’d been dreaming of seeing her all week and she was why I’d hurried to finish all the legal stuff in England concerning my family.
As they closed the door behind themselves, Britney held her waist and said, “I’m sorry I barged in without calling first. I waited a few hours and hoped I’d catch you alone.”
So she’d known I was there and that friends were trying to babysit me though I never asked them to.
I could hardly breathe. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Her eyes widened. “You are?”
The time had come to tell the truth and face the consequences like a man. I nodded. “Absolutely. There was something I intended to tell you in London, but everything spun too fast.”
She cupped my face and said, “I came here to tell you?—”
“Let me finish,” I interrupted. If she only wanted my body without knowing the rest, then I’d get lost again.
She swiped her face. “Okay, you can go first.”
I took her hands. She smelled like her rosy perfume, and my heart pounded.
“The first moment I met you in Charlie’s house when you came up to see Hope, I was enchanted,” I said.
She smiled. “You were sexy as fuck.”
I laughed, and my face heated. “Well, thank you. When you invited me back to your place, I was hooked.”
“Me too.”
Time to tell her everything. I took a deep breath and said, “But before you even told me you were pregnant, I already suspected it was more.”
“More?”
I straightened and swallowed. This is go time. “I was and am in love with you. You’re everything I always wanted to be with, and you’ve had my heart since the beginning.”
Her eyes widened, and she covered her lips. “Seriously?”
I held her. I needed to touch her, even for that last moment. “I know you don’t love me back. You’ve made it abundantly clear, but I wanted to marry you, start a family with you, because I wanted us to work out and get to live happily ever after.”
Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, Michael.”
My body tingled from her nearness. “And while I’m sad we lost the baby, I needed to tell you that I love you, and I don’t want a divorce.”
“We didn’t.” She pressed a hand on my chest, and I stepped back to give her the room she wanted. Then she let out a long sigh and said, “I’m still pregnant. I’d tried to tell you the baby was fine, but I fucked that up, too, like I do everything.”
I was in a bubble. Not even sure I was in my body, I reached for her hand. “Wait. What?”
She lowered her head but held me. “When my friends found me wallowing and told me what you thought, I showered and decided to find you. I’m so sorry. I just don’t want any stress.”
I rocked back and forth.
Our baby was still coming. My skin tingled as my eyes grew hot.
